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Ricardo Torres vs Kendall Holt II: What Happened?

On July 5th, Kendall Holt got another crack at a 140lb title when he faced hard hitting WBO champion Ricardo Torres for the second time after a controversial TKO loss ten months earlier.In what was the most exciting 61 seconds of any fight I have ever seen, there were many things that happened, so many questions raised after the fight, it’s time for me to talk about what I seen, what actually happened and what I feel should happen next.

Well, as soon as the bell rang for the beginning of round 1, Torres attacked Holt viciously, he went straight at him throwing bombs, and with one solid overhand right (at 0:13) down goes Holt, up he gets in one second waving his hands to signal he is okay, he does not appear hurt. Referee Jay Nady counts, Holt has his wits about him and is allowed to continue, (at 0:25 – 0:31) Torres puts pressure on Holt, they exchange, Holt attempts to tie Torres up, but Torres, still punching with authority lands a quick one two (at 0:32) and down goes Holt again but pops up instantly and is hit with another left hook by Torres, Jay Nady does not acknowledge the blow and begins to give Holt the mandatory 8 count. Holt who seems a bit more hurt than the first knockdown begins to circle once the action resumes, Holt is hit with a solid left hook (at 0:47) while retreating, (at 0:50) Torres chases Holt who is now cornered. While backing up, Holt is hit with a left to the nose, immediately Torres throws a right but misses, Holt is bent, after Torres misses the right (at 0:52) Holt connects to the body, but simultaneously goes up and his head crashes into Torres’ lower jaw, Torres’ head rattles hard. The referee did not see the clash, all this happens within two seconds. After Holt rocks Torres with his head (at 0:53), Torres falls against the ropes, disoriented by the head butt, Torres attempts to stand up, (at 0:54) Holt runs after him and connects with a huge right hand and down goes Torres. The referee begins the count but notices that Torres is out cold and stops the fight at 1:01 of round one…….WOW!!

I must say that while the fight was happening, I did not notice the headbutt, everything happened so fast, and the camera was behind Torres, but I did see Torres’ head rattle right before he retreated, only I thought it was from a punch landed by Holt. Then the replay showed a left to the body that Holt connected with, most thought (including myself) that was the punch that hurt Torres. But after the fight, I sat back again and watched it on my TiVo, carefully analyzing the fight as it happened, and with one reply, I seen the headbutt that seem to badly bother Torres, although it was clearly unintentional, it most definitely affected the outcome of the bout tremendously.

What would have happened if Holt did not accidentally headbutt Torres?

Maybe he would’ve been knocked out, and maybe not, I personally think that Torres would have finished the job, if not that round, the second round for sure, Torres can punch, but does tend to get reckless when he has his opponents hurt (as in the Cotto fight).

Did Kendall Holt really beat Ricardo Torres?

Well that’s a judgment call, but I think he did. Even though Torres was hit with a hard headbutt that really affected him, he should have never backed up without protecting himself, yes he fell to the ropes, and maybe that should have been ruled a knockdown seeing as the ropes held him up, but he kept his hands low, a big no no. The biggest most important rule to a boxer is to “Protect Yourself At All Times”, Torres did not, and he paid the price. I’m sure from all the adrenalin pumping through his veins, Torres may not have even felt the headbutt but was pushed back by it, who knows, but he was brutally Knocked Out none the less.

I think there should be a third fight, after all, Torres gave Holt a rematch when he clearly didn’t have to, Holt should return the favor and give Torres a chance to prove his worth, not only that, but we were only give 61 seconds of this great match-up, I think we’ would all like to see more.

Two controversial endings in two great fights, we want a third, I think it should be made a mandatory by the WBO, we will see what comes of this, hopefully Kendall goes in the directions we all would like.

Thanks to Holt and Torres for giving us one of the most amazing rounds I’ve EVER seen in my life as a boxing fan.

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This entry was posted on July 10, 2008 at 3:08 and is filed under Thoughts.
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